Saturday, June 10, 2017

The reluctant blogger

As some of you might have noticed, while I am at home I rarely blog. That doesn't mean that I don't work wood. But for some reason I find it incredibly hard to find the energy to sit down and turn on the computer and write a blog entry.
I have sort of reached a conclusion as to why it is so, there are a couple of reasons and why they might not make sense to all, they are nonetheless the fact in my case:

-I prefer building to blogging.
This could be true to a lot of woodworkers. If blogging was the goal itself, then it is unlikely that woodworking would be the theme of a blog.

-I find it exhausting to take a picture of my current project and have it uploaded to the computer.
This is technically ridiculous, since taking a picture isn't hard. All I have to do is to find the camera (most likely it will be in Gustavs room), take a picture, plug in a cable and get it onto the blog. But for some in explainable reason I see this as a major obstacle. I procrastinate if I have to find the camera and often I end up completing a project without taking any pictures, and then it is sort of too late (in my mind).

-I don't like to spend time behind the computer screen while at home.
I feel like I am at work if I have to turn on the computer, so even checking my email account is likely only done every 10 days or so.
This is also the reason why I very seldom comment on anything during my home periods.

-Some of the stuff I do at home is not really interesting blogging material for this blog.
While I do try to spend a great deal of time in my shop while at home, there are also loads of regular tasks that simply aren't interesting to blog about. Stuff like changing the injection pump on our car, changing 37 individual pieces of thermo glass in various windows, mowing the lawn, fixing the lawn mower, re establish the correct air cushion in the hydrophore tank, fixing the horse trailer, treating the porch with a protective varnish, walking the dog etc.

The funny thing is that if I manage to pull myself together and do blog while I am at home, I really enjoy it. The problem is that I am really good at procrastinate when it is "required" and the blog is what suffers from it.

Whenever I get back to sea I suddenly find that I should have blogged about this and that etc. But it is too late at that time, especially since I haven't got any pictures of the projects.

Hi AndyThanks for your comment.In theory it is a fine idea to write the blog posts on board, but it still requires me to get the pictures with me somehow. I know that some posts work fine without a single picture, but most of the things I have done at home this time would benefit from being accompanied by one.Another solution could be to move into the 21st century and get a smart phone :-)BrgdsJonas

I get the thing about too many steps to get pics on the blog. I've solved this with my hardware. My camera has wi-fi, so I am able to suck the pictures from it directly to my ipad with no cables. They are then automatically backed up to my Google Pics, and since Blogger is part of Google, it is just a matter of choosing what photos That I took to use on a blog post.

That being said, I've gotten lazy about posting as often as I like, too.

You are so much more modern than I am, I know that Mette is trying to impose a smart phone on me, but I am even more reluctant to that than I to blogging at home. While it could most likely be a great solution to the problem. I have an inherent distrust in stuff like wifi, icloud, my cloud, googlecloud, and what not - and those two things sort of stand in the way of each other :-)CheersJonas

I know that exact feeling you describe. Being self employed not chekking mails for 10 days is not an option but if i decide to take a day off and spend it at my workshop (or other pleasurable activity) i can get cuite frustrated. Similarly writing or photographing my progress in the workshop can break the "good flow of work". Being a professional photographer this has nothing to do with a technical issue but rather about the different types of mindset we all use. Here is mine:In order to document my work i need to be in "work mode", and just lige you, sitting by the computer feels like being at work. I try to avoid this.Close to work mode is "production mode". Here I most likely make something i have done before and feel comfortable what i am doing and can afford the distraction. But things made in production mode is often a bit boring and nothing new emerges.Then there is "creative mode", my favorite! Here i challenge myself and insist in adding new techinques, materials, tools, shapes, joints etc to the project and often spend days skeching, making mockups, skething some more etc before it all emereges. For a long while I thought that I just needed to get my act together in order to document the progress. Then spoke to a psykologist who just replyed "Of cource you cant. These things use totally different part of the brain. You need to choose what is most important and stick to that".

That was a lot of writing just to say: Your blog is perfectly good as it is (and much anjoyed!), no need to feel bad about not blogging at times.

One of the reasons for my reluctance to fire up a computer at home could also be that I usually do it in the evening time. Somehow it reminds me of being a child again, and in my head there is a feeling that this will inevitably end up with being bed-time as soon as the computer thing is over.Not that going to bed is bad, but it used to be a brutal way of ending the day, having to accept the sad fact that there was not going to be anymore playing with Lego and climbing trees, riding a bicycle etc. Technically I decide those things for myself now, but I know all too well that if I sit at the computer from 21:30 to 22:30 to make a blog entry, there is that chance of a snowball in Hell that I will make it to the shop after that.And I just hate that fact..

I am so glad that you enjoy my blog despite the not super regular flow of new posts.

Hi BobThanks.I know that I like to read about to read about people doing things not woodworking related, so I guess that I shouldn't be afraid to write about those things either.But still the biggest obstacle is getting myself to sit in front of a computer...BrgdsJonas (who looked at the immigration process to Yukon yesterday, dreaming about having the guts to do it).

Ditto Ty and Bob, I'm thankful that you (and many others) blog as much as you do. Besides, if all of you posted everything you work on, that's a lot of reading so when would I get any shop time? 😉Jefff

Yep been there done that. Writing the blog over the years is hard work but because I use my blog as a journal, mostly about woodworking because that is what I do when not working, it is invaluable. Not because of the great writing or subject matter but because it is a record of my life. Hang in there, like Bob, I enjoy reading about you. Pictures or no pictures.

Hi Jonas,I fully understand your reasoning. My blog writing has dropped off a bit too. In order to write a blog post I have to give up shop time. Once I sit down at the computer I know my chances for time in the shop (or any other activity) are over for that day. Write when you can. I'll read it when I see it pop up in my feed. I always find your posts inspirational. Especially your "at sea" minimal tool woodworking.

I stopped using an actual camera a few years ago. I find my phone takes decent enough photos for my blog and it is much, much easier to access them. My 10 year old computer on the other hand has become my biggest stumbling block as of late.

Hi GregThe issue with shop time vs. writing time, and the deep knowledge of that as soon as you sit in front of the computer, there will most likely not be anymore shop time that day are hard to overcome.I might have to end up following my wife's advice and get a smart phone. That could potentially help me, because I actually do like to blog, but it should just be more efficient in a way to persuade myself to do it more often.

I am glad that my "at sea posts" can serve as some kind of inspiration. I'll have to figure out a project to do this time. I am on a new boat, and I didn't bring my tool set with me since I am only going to be here for 1 trip. That meant that I had to tote my safety shoes and work clothes etc. with me back and forth, so to make it easy on myself, I just stuffed all the essentials in a bag and decided that I would have to get by without any of my own tools this time.

If I had a blog post it would be titled "Wish I was a blogger", as sometimes I do wish I would start a blog but then I think with the limited amount of free time I get I would have to choose between woodworking, tinkering, and blogging. The time spent blogging loses every time so I feel your pain. However when I am not on my lunch break wishing that I could be doing actual woodworking I spend the rest of the time wishing that some of you bloggers would post more content like Ralph so I have more to read on break.

Ralph is the lighthouse in the world of woodworking blogging. I don't know how he manages to blog that consistently, and still have time to visit an comment on every other blog there's out there. He is truly amazing.

It definitely takes some time to write and maintain a blog, but so far I have only had positive experiences doing it.The interaction you get with people from various places is fantastic, and that is what makes it all worth while.

I'll start sounding like a cheap politician if I said once more that I'll promise to blog more often.Instead I'll rephrase it to: It is my sincere hope and intention that I'll get better at blogging more often.